Primary caregivers' awareness and perception of early-onset dementia conditions in adolescents and young and middle-aged adults with Down syndrome

Jin Ding Lin, Wen Xiu Chen, Shang Wei Hsu, Lan Ping Lin, Fu Gong Lin, Chi Chieh Tang, Jia Ling Wu, Cordia Chu, Yu Ching Chou

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

4 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

The present study aims to investigate the onset of dementia conditions using the Dementia Screening Questionnaire for Individuals with Intellectual Disabilities (DSQIID) scale and to identify the possible factors associated with DSQIID scores in people with Down syndrome (DS). The study population was recruited from the voluntary registry members of the Republic of China Foundation for Persons with Down syndrome; primary caregivers provided DSQIID information on 196 adolescents and adults with DS (aged 15-48 years) who were entered into the database and analyzed using SPSS 20.0 software. The results described the distribution of early-onset dementia conditions in 53 adolescents and adults with DS, and 2.6% of the subjects with DS had possible dementia (DSQIID score. ≧. 20). Univariate analyses found that older age (p= 0.001) and comorbid conditions (p= 0.003) were significantly associated with DSQIID scores. Older subjects were more likely to have higher DSQIID scores than were younger age groups after ANOVA and Scheffe's tests. Lastly, a multiple linear regression analysis revealed that age (p<. 0.01), severe disability level (p<. 0.05) and comorbid condition (p<. 0.01) significantly explained 13% of the variation in DSQIID scores after adjusting for the factors of gender, education level and multiple disabilities in adolescents and adults with DS. The study highlights that future research should focus on the occurrence of dementia in people with DS and on identifying its influencing factors based on sound measurements, to initiate appropriate healthy aging policies for this group of people.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1934-1940
Number of pages7
JournalResearch in Developmental Disabilities
Volume35
Issue number9
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Jan 1 2014
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Aging
  • Dementia
  • Dementia scale
  • Down syndrome
  • DSQIID

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Developmental and Educational Psychology
  • Clinical Psychology

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